Stay With Us!
by pocketcucco
Summary: Milla, stuck in an unfamiliar dimension, needs a place to stay. Fortunately, Ludger has an apartment. Implied Ludger/Fractured Milla.


_**Come Stay With Us!**_

The sun was setting when Ludger and Elle finally got back to his apartment. With all of the Waymarker business, it felt like they rarely spent any time at home.

Ludger dragged a finger along the kitchen counter; there was a fine layer of dust (aside from the paw prints Rollo had just tracked through it). And the whole place was starting to smell musty.

Yuck.

He was trying to pry one of the windows open when he saw the otherworldly Milla sitting alone on the swings outside.

Milla looked so forlorn, so lost. She pushed her swing forward a little bit, kicking rocks with the tip of her boot. Ludger immediately abandoned the window (it was too stuck to open, anyway) and went outside to meet her.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

Milla glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can work something out. I always have."

"You haven't gotten yourself a room at the inn?"

A beat of silence. "I didn't bring any gald with me," she finally said, "and before you offer, no, I won't spend any of yours. You need it for that debt, don't you? So I'll figure something out on my own. Don't bother me."

"Come stay in Ludger's apartment with us!"

Both Milla and Ludger turned. He hadn't realized that Elle followed him out of the apartment, but there she was with Rollo in tow. The girl smiled up at Milla as she grabbed hold of her hand.

"We can share Ludger's bed! He'll sleep on the couch."

"I really don't want-"

"And he can make us dinner. Ludger's a great cook, you know."

"Please, Elle, I don't-"

" _Or_ you can make your soup! I mean, I don't think Ludger has any of those bear claws in his fridge, but I'm sure we can find something else! We could even go shopping for ingredients."

Milla's resolve was crumbling fast in the face of Elle's smile, which only grew wider as she spoke. Milla looked to Ludger for support – but, as usual, he said nothing, instead opting to watch them with a sly grin of his own.

"W-Well, I… I suppose if Ludger doesn't mind," she said after a moment's hesitation. "It _is_ his apartment, after all."

"Ludger doesn't mind. Do you?" Elle asked, turning to give him her best puppy dog eyes.

But he was already nodding. "Of course I don't mind."

"Just for tonight!" Milla told them. "And then I'll find a place of my own until we leave."

Elle led the way back inside. Rollo quickly made himself comfortable on the couch beside her, where she was flipping through a children's magazine Ludger bought her when they got back to Trigleph.

Milla stood at the doorway, taking everything in.

"It's so...industrial. How do you find this comfortable?" she asked, nose wrinkled.

"It's what I've always known," Ludger said.

Milla nodded absently. She took a few steps inside and shut the door, but she hovered close to the entrance. She reminded Ludger of a prey animal, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

"What's for dinner?" Elle asked.

Ludger put a finger to his chin. "Good question. What do you want?"

" _No_ tomatoes! And nothing spicy!"

Milla snorted. "Hm. A little picky, isn't she?"

"She's about normal for a girl her age."

"I suppose so," Milla said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Let me help with dinner. In return for letting me stay here, I mean."

"You don't owe me anything. I enjoy the company. It's just me here now that my brother's...out."

Milla huffed. "Well, let me help anyway. I'm starving, and we'll cook faster if there are two of us."

"If you say so."

Ludger riffled quickly through the fridge and pantry. A lot of things – leftovers from their last stay in Trigleph, a half-gone bottle of milk, slowly rotting fruits – needed to be thrown out. There wasn't much left when he was done cleaning…aside from a few tomatoes, of course, but Elle would have a fit if she saw those anywhere near her dinner.

Milla appeared at his shoulder. "It looks like you have enough for a stew. Or maybe a soup?"

"Ratatouille, maybe. Without the tomatoes."

"Mm. I've never had a ratatouille before. It sounds foreign…but good."

"It's a stewed vegetable dish. One of my personal favorites," Ludger said as he grabbed a handful of veggies that were still good – deeply purple eggplant, some bell peppers, an onion, and a large zucchini – from the fridge. "Julius used to make it all the time. He didn't always have time to buy or hunt monster meat."

"I see," Milla said. She took the eggplant in one hand and hefted it. "Want me to cut this?"

"Sure. I'll get everything else ready."

Ludger set to work with the other vegetables. A peaceful silence settled over the apartment; he could hear Elle turning the glossy pages of her magazine and Milla chopping on the counter behind him, but it felt...homey. He hadn't felt this nice since Julius was home every night.

He glanced over his shoulder as he finished the bell peppers and grabbed the zucchini. Milla was quiet, but her expression was content – nothing like it had been when she first stepped inside.

"What have you made besides your…specialty soup?" he asked

"Not much. I'm very busy, you know."

"That makes sense."

"I like to bake sometimes... Cakes and cookies when I get a chance. Does Elle have much of a sweet tooth? Maybe I can make her something when things calm down."

"Don't spoil her," Ludger said, though he was smiling.

Milla turned around and playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

"Anyway, speaking of Elle," she continued, lowering her voice, "how did the two of you meet? Is she family? It seems pretty irresponsible to bring such a small child on a journey like this."

"We met at the train station."

"Oh?"

"There was an attack on the train we were both riding."

"And somehow that led to following her to the Land of Canaan."

"Yes. I couldn't find her parents, so..."

"Do they know she's here?"

"Not that I'm aware of. She's dead-set on finding Canaan."

"What you're doing for her is certainly above and beyond the call of duty. She's...very

lucky to have you looking out for her."

Milla said it with a strange note to her voice, but she was grinning when Ludger looked to her from the corner of his eye. There was something gentle about it.

Milla didn't smile often, but when she did, it was warm. And Ludger couldn't help but grin himself when he turned back to the vegetables.

"Did you finish the eggplant? I'm going to throw the rest of these in the skillet," he said.

Milla nodded and waited for him while he pulled a skillet from a cabinet, poured in a sprinkle of olive oil, and set it to heat. They added the diced vegetables in and got a baking pan ready to finish cooking the dish in the oven.

"It shouldn't be much longer," Ludger said to Elle. She nodded, but she was busy with whatever was in that magazine – it looked like it was open to a simple crossword puzzle.

"Hey." Milla's voice was soft. She was staring at her boots again, her brow furrowed. "Thanks again. For letting me stay here."

"It's no problem. Really."

"You're…um… I've enjoyed being with you and Elle. You've both made me feel welcome in this dimension, even if I don't belong."

"Don't talk like that."

Her head snapped up then. Milla's gaze was angry at first glance, but when she spoke, her voice cracked.

"We both know I don't belong here. Everyone else knows the other Milla Maxwell. The _real_ Milla."

"You're real too. Even if this isn't your original dimension, it can still be your home."

"No, it can't. This isn't my home, Ludger. It never will be. But I don't have a choice, do I? I can't go back to my dimension. Not ever."

"It could be." He slipped one hand over hers. "Elle adores and looks up to you. She'd be heartbroken if you left."

Milla didn't respond. But she didn't pull away, either.

"Maybe you feel like you don't belong now, but…we _want_ you to stay. You're a good friend to us, Milla."

"A friend, huh. What if the real Milla comes back?"

"We can deal with that when it happens. And don't call her the 'real' Milla. You're a real Milla, too."

Another beat of silence. A sigh. She stared at Ludger with an expression not unlike helplessness.

"I wish I could believe that," she said, quietly.

"You will. One day. I guess I'll have to work on convincing you."

And a smile – real and genuine – tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Fine," she said. "Come on. Let's finish dinner."


End file.
